The 6th running of the now
annual Nifty-50 endurance took place in Mondello Park on the 21st of
February last in cool but dry conditions.
The entry was filled to capacity again
limited to 50 teams in the 3 categories or 50-80cc, 90cc standard and 90cc modified.
Teams came from all over Ireland and the UK to compete in this charity event
where winners donate the prize money to their nominated charities. The
charities benefitting this year were the RNLI and Make-A-Wish foundation.
Mondello Park kindly donated the gate takings to OXFAM.
The Le Mans sprint style start provided
immense excitement as the race began at 11am with the first spill taking place
5m from the start as one rider actually flipped the bike. As the race
progressed it appeared that homework had been done as UK team Driving Miss
Daisy topped the leader board and began to move away from the rest of the field
of 90cc modified bikes. In the standard 90cc class, previous winner Ed Manly
alongside 2014 ISB champion Cody Nally and road racer James Kelly, wasn’t
having it his own way as they were dogged with mechanical gremlins in the
latter parts of the race. The 50-80cc class was also being dominated by UK team
The Bike Insurer.
The dry weather conditions continued for
the entirety of the meeting and as the 4hr mark approached I don’t think there
was anyone who didn’t feel the cold!
The chequered flag finally fell at 4
o’clock as Driving Miss Daisy cruised home to win followed by Yellow Peril and
Bikeworld in 3rd to complete the 90cc modified class.
The 90cc standard category was won by Knee
Down Racing with the Galloping Geezers and Manly Racing finishing 2nd
and 3rd respectively.
In the 50-80cc race, The Bike Insurer took
the win from Team Cider from Cork and Ronan Kerrigan’s team in 3rd.
Prize giving took place in the packed newly
decorated Mondello Park bar hosted by event organizer Ed Byrne. Entries for the
2017 event is almost full with remaining spaces to be posted online in the near
future.
Congratulations to all involved including
the riders, supporters, Mondello staff, photographers and marshals for making
this the 6th successful outing!
Andy Quinn
(c) IrishSuperbikeRacing.com
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